Skull and Shackles

Welcome to the Shackles

The Free Captains of the Shackles have long been a
thorn in the sides of the nations of the Inner Sea, and
no country has chafed under their predations as much
as Cheliax. Unfortunately, removing the threat of the
pirates by invasion is made almost impossible by the
howling winds and treacherous currents of the Eye of
Abendego, the permanent hurricane that rages just north
of the Shackles. Since the defeat of two Chelish f leets in
4643 and 4660 ar, respectively, the House of Thrune has
longed for revenge and the chance to eliminate the pirate
confederacy once and for all.
This chance finally presented itself when the Chelish navy
recently captured Barnabas Harrigan, a Free Captain of the
Shackles who had long plagued Chelish merchant shipping
in the Inner Sea and Arcadian Ocean. Facing execution for
his crimes and the scuttling of his ship Wormwood, Harrigan
offered Cheliax a deal—if they gave him immunity from his
past crimes, he would lead a Chelish f leet to the Shackles
to put an end to the threat of the pirate confederacy once
and for all. And once he had handed the Shackles over to
Cheliax, perhaps Harrigan could get himself appointed
governor of the new Chelish colony there.
But such plans take time, and Harrigan needed to
solidify his own position in the hierarchy of the Free
Captains before he could seize power following the
Chelish invasion, all the while ensuring that no word got
out of his treachery. Fortunately, with the exception of a
few close confidantes of the captain, the Wormwood’s crew
was decimated in the battle with the Chelish navy, but
Harrigan needed to replenish his crew with fresh bodies.
He returned to Port Peril, the rough-and-tumble capital
of the Shackles, to press-gang new hands for his ship,
who now find themselves members of
his crew of scoundrels and cutthroats. With a hold full
of impressed sailors, the Wormwood left Port Peril and
headed for the open sea, where Harrigan will put his plans
into motion. Harrigan’s new crew, need
to quickly adapt to life on a pirate ship, or suffer the harsh
consequences of pirate justice.